Protesting delay in a road construction work, a group of NCP workers performed 'Nagin Dance' in front of senior PWD officials at Buldhana, Maharashtra.

Nagin or snake dance, a popular dance in Bollywood films, is usually performed by sensuous actresses.

A video, which has since gone viral, shows a group of NCP workers barging into a meeting of PWD officials at Buldhana, about 500 km away from Mumbai.

As the baffled officals look, the workers break into a Nagin dance, with some of them even circling the table, gyrating suggestively. The dance continued till a cop intervened and shooed them away.

The protesters say the PWD department had given a road and footpath contract to Eagle construction company. The work that was to complete in two years has been going on even after four years, they alleged.

The dancers said the officials have been reluctant to act against the company despite several representations, forcing them to carry out Nagin dance protest.

It is not common to see a woman tunnel engineer, which counts among the most dangerous civil engineering jobs in the world.Annie Sinha Roy - Facebook photo

April 29, 2016, NewsCrunch

Last May when Annie Sinha Roy, India’s only tunnel engineer, joined Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC), there was a crisis.

The tunnelboring machine, Godavari, had got broken down on the underground stretch between Sampige Station and Majestic.

As an assistant engineer, it was Annie Sinha Roy’s job to get the machine repaired and restart the boring work.

The Times of India reports that Annie Sinha Roy rose to the challenge, got Godavari to whirr again and finish the underground stretch. Thanks to Annie Sinha Roy and other Metro employees the East-West corridor of Bangalore Metro opens for public on Saturday.

It is not common to see a woman tunnel engineer, which counts among the most dangerous civil engineering jobs in the world.

But challenges are nothing new to Annie Sinha Roy.

She lost her father while completing degree in mechanical engineering from NagpurUniversityand had to get a job to manage the family. She joined Senbo, a contractor with Delhi Metro,

She also had stints with Chennai Metro and Doha– where she was rejected visa thrice as she was not married – before joining Bangalore Metro.

Annie Sinha Roy, who hails from Kolkata, says there was always a question among her male colleagues on how long she would last.

The organisers of the events to which Kanhaiya Kumar is called pay for his expenses

April 30, 2016, NewsCrunch

JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar has responded to repeated criticism that despite his talk of poor and social justice, he has been flying around the country giving speeches.

In an interview with India Today, Kanhaiya Kumar has explained why he does not travel by train - to escape from fringe elements, as the extremist elements in the Hindutva brigade are called.

Kanhaiya Kumar, who has emerged as tough challenger to the right wing groups, has been attacked several times and is understandably concerned about his security.

As a recent controversy shows, even travelling by flight brings its share of trouble.

In the same interview, Kanhaiya Kumar also explained, how his trips are funded. The organisers of the events to which he is called pay for his expenses and sometimes students contribute to raise funds.

Acharya Balkrishna, 43, owns 94% of Patanjali Ayurved and works as its Chairman and Managing Director. Three per cent of the firm is owned by an NRI couple, Sunita and Sarwan Poddar, followers of Ramdev, who had loaned Balkrishna his initial capital to start the business.

Balkrishna told The Economic Times said there was no link between the Patanjali Yogpeeth trust under Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved, the FMCG company.

Balkrishna, has been a longtime loyal associate of Ramdev. Ramdev earned UPA’s ire after the Anna Hazare movement and multiple agencies started probing his businesses. It was Balakrishna who bore the brunt. He was slapped with several charges from money laundering to cheating and was even briefly jailed in a forged passport case.

ET says he has got a clean chit in the cases and moved on to turn Patanjali Ayurved into a Rs 5,000 crore corporate empire.

He reportedly uses an iPhone but no computer, is dressed in a traditional white kurta and dhoti, and speaks in pure Hindi.

He works for 15 hours a day and claims not have taken a single day's leave.

Under him, Balkrishna has moved into new categories without any market research and hit jackpots in many.

Balkrishna was born to Sumitra Devi and Jay Vallabh and received an Acharya degree in Varanasi. He met Ramdev at a gurukul in Haryana. Before setting up Patanjali Ayurved, he was at the helm of several businesses set up by Ramdev.

Video: A recent interview with Acharya Balkrishna

Akshay’s bodyguard had also slapped a dentist, who had tried to get close to the star… (video below)

April 30, 2016, NewsCrunch

Akshay Kumar chose to walk away after his bodyguard punched a fan who was trying to take a selfie.

A young man in light blue shirt caught up with Akshay Kumar outside the Mumbai airport and walked along with him trying to take a selfie.

To dissuade him, the star’s bald bodyguard in a safari punched him in the head.

The video shows Akshay Kumar turning back to take a look at the commotion, but opted to walk away.

Media reports say the bodyguard has been working with Akshay for several years.

In 2014, Akshay’s bodyguard had slapped a dentist, who had tried to get close to the star during a film shoot in Malad. After the doctor complained, the police had warned the bodyguard not to assault onlookers.

It is not clear if it is a different bodyguard in the new video or the same repeat offender.

His last tweet read: “How low will some people now stoop? Hack my account? Put out false messages? When will this end? Time to disable account. Enough is enough”.

He deleted his account after that.

His wife and fellow journalist Sagarika Ghose tweeted after that explaining his decision. She said an utterly insane campaign of abuse was being run against journalists from accounts that were being followed by ministers and PMO.

She also called upon Twitter to check why so many were opting to leave its network.

Rajdeep Sardesai and Sagarika Ghose have a contentious relationship with supporters of BJP with which they differ ideologically. They are constantly trolled and abused.

Though Rajdeep Sardesai has spiritedly fended off the attacks on him, his patience seems to have snapped on Saturday afternoon.

Viral video asks Indian Muslims would they sing vande mataram – their answer is as diverse as India

The rubbing of nose is a traditional Maori greeting known as 'hongi' (video below)

April 30, 2016, NewsCrunch

President Pranab Mukherjee rubbed his nose with Maori chief and his wife in Auckland, New Zealand, on Saturday while receiving a traditional welcome at the Governor General’s mansion.

A Kiwi official escorted the President to the chief of the warriors who stood along with his wife. Both of them rubbed their nose with Pranab Mukherjee before allowing him to inspect the guard of honour.

The rubbing of nose is a traditional Maori greeting known as 'hongi' in which two people press their nose in a gesture similar to a handshake.

Maoris believe that during Hongi, the "ha" (breath) is exchanged which amounts to sharing of two people's souls.

The Maoris are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand.

Video: Watch Pranab Mukherjee rub his nose with Maori chief and wife in New Zealand

Kanhaiya Kumar received a hero's welcome in his home state Bihar, where he had gone for the first time after his release from Tihar jail.

He was welcomed by the Bihar government officials at the airport and was escorted by a convoy of security personnel. He visited two most powerful men in Bihar, CM Nitish Kumar and his backer Lalu Prasad Yadav.

It was the meeting with the latter, which became a little controversial.

Amidst media frenzy, Kanhaiya Kumar went to Lalu's residence and touched his feet seeking his blessings.

A photo of Kanhaiya Kumar and Lalu created buzz with many commenting derisively that the JNUSU president had begun his anti-corruption crusade with Lalu, who had spent years in jail for the fodder scam.

But Kanhaiya Kumar defended his meeting with Lalu saying he had supported JNU students when they were under attack from the right wing forces. Lalu reciprocated saying JNU was not an ordinary university, but had made a name for itself by championing social justice.

But BJP protested the reception given to Kanhaiya Kumar saying he had been person charged with sedition.

Kanhaiya belongs to Begusarai district of Bihar. There is a natural fit between the backward class government in Bihar and Kanhaiya Kumar, who has quickly emerged as a student leader-champion of social justice.

After a journalist asked if he would patch up with Salman Khan, Vivek Oberoi walked out immediately (video below)

May 1, 2016, NewsCrunch

Vivek Oberoi's press conference at IIFA came to an abrupt end when a journalist asked him about his bitter foe Salman Khan.

Vivek Oberoi, who is acting in RGV film Rai, which many describe as a good break for him, was eager to take questions. As the video shows, he stood on the stage wearing dark glasses and smiling.

It lasted till someone asked if he would patch up with Salman Khan ever. Vivek Oberoi ignored the question and walked out immediately.

Vivek Oberoi and Salman Khan fell out more than a decade ago over Aishwarya Rai, whom both dated at different times. Vivek Oberoi had alleged in a press conference that Salman Khan had threatened him for seeing Aishwarya Rai.

Though he tried to make amends, including making a public apology, Salman Khan never forgave him.

Video: Vivek Oberoi saying Salman threatened him

Modi's MA course was for two years and his subjects included European Politics, Indian Political Analysis and Psychology of Politics.

May 1, 2016, NewsCrunch

All speculation can rest, PM Modi did pass out of Gujarat University in 1983 with a first class degree in Master of Arts in Political Science.

He passed MA as an external student, but with distinction scoring of 62.3 per cent.

An old interview that had surfaced recently shows Modi quite accurately claiming that he had passed his MA with flying colours.

His MA course was for two years and his subjects included European Politics, Indian Political Analysis and Psychology of Politics.

Ahmedabad Mirror, which dug out Modi's degree details from Gujarat University, also mentions that he had completed his prescience - equivalent of 12th standard - from MN Science College, Visnagar.

A ledger entry from Gujarat University lists Modi among studentsCourtesy Ahmedabad Mirror

Modi has stated that he had to drop out of formal education after he left home at an early age, but made a disciplined effort to make up for it by earning a BA degree from Delhi University and an MA from Gujarat University.

Ahmedabad Mirror spoke to Modi's family and friends, who agreed that Modi was a serious student.

His brother Prahalad Modi said when Modi was running a canteen in Ahmedabad, he had enrolled at the Shri Swaminarayan Arts College, but could not go to college regularly due to work.

Another friend recalled that while pursuing his MA externally, Modi would make sure that he did the day's study despite hectic schedule.

Modi's educational qualifications became controversial as PMO, Gujarat University and Delhi University have repeatedly declined to answer any RTI query on them, prompting many to think that the PM had faked them.

After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also raked up the issue, Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu had ordered PMO to hand over the relevant information.

Now, it is only Modi's Delhi University degree that needs to be confirmed.